By April 2022, Cayden and Courtney thought their ordeal was over when they learned he was in remission. She became an ambassador for Dare to Dream, enthusiastically serving as a volunteer with LLS—right up until Cayden’s cancer came back, only 9 months later.
Another battle with ALL began for Cayden and Courtney.
Cayden began complaining of pain in his foot shortly after Christmas in 2022. At first it came and went, but a few weeks later, it became persistent and started swelling. His oncologist initially diagnosed him with osteonecrosis, or bone death. They admitted him for about a week and treated his condition with pain medication and antibiotics.
A couple of days later, he started having pain in his arm, and Courtney immediately contacted his pediatric oncologist. They ordered a bone marrow biopsy that turned Cayden’s, Courtney’s, and the rest of their family’s world upside down all over again.
“It’s not good. Cayden relapsed.”
When those words escaped the lips of Cayden’s nurse in February 2023, Courtney was in disbelief. “9 months. We only got 9 months,” she thought. “9 months of no chemo. 9 months of a pseudo-normal life. 9 months of no medical supplies in our house.”
She was devastated and heartbroken—no parent wants to see their child relapse after everything they’ve already been through. After a couple of days, she sprang into action, researching treatment options as doctors admitted Cayden to the hospital for 23 days of treatment.
Thanks to LLS-funded research and Dare to Dream, Cayden received CAR T-cell treatment.
As a Dare to Dream ambassador, Courtney advocated and raised awareness for children who have blood cancer and their families. And she benefited from this role as well. “As an ambassador, I learned so much about treatment options like CAR-T,” she shares. “That knowledge helped me to be better informed and feel more confident going into conversations
with Cayden’s oncologists after his relapse.” LLS’s early and sustained research investment was vital to the development of CAR-T immunotherapy, which is now a lifeline for thousands of blood cancer patients.
Courtney and Cayden’s healthcare team wanted to give him effective treatment with as few side effects as possible, so they harvested his white blood cells at Duke Children’s Hospital in preparation for CAR T-cell treatment. “The process of harvesting his cells was painless, thankfully, and he even took a nap!”
Basically, doctors taught Cayden’s T-cells—a type of white blood cell—to create chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). CARs help T-cells identify and destroy cancer cells. For pediatric cancer patients like Cayden, this helps them target cancer without damaging their healthy cells.
When Cayden’s cells were ready, he and Courtney returned to the hospital for four days of chemotherapy followed by the CAR T-cell infusion. “Cayden didn’t feel a thing and the only side effect he experienced was the fact that he smelled like creamed corn for 24 hours,” Courtney says.
Cayden is thriving following chemotherapy, his target immunotherapy treatment, and CAR-T infusion—thanks, in part, to Dare to Dream.
He will start second grade in September, and is back to his normal, playful, energetic self. Currently in remission, he’s waiting for a bone marrow match, with the hope of receiving a bone marrow transplant.
When patients of color don’t have a matched donor in their family, the wait for a bone marrow match can be long, as minority donors are underrepresented in match programs. As an example, there is only a 29% chance an African American will be able to find a bone marrow match. NMDP, formerly Be the Match, exists to match donors and blood cancer patients from all underrepresented communities. Register today and find out if you might be the right match for Cayden, or any other child waiting for a second chance at life.
LLS is working so hard to change the status quo for pediatric cancer treatment—so that kids like Cayden can get cancer treatment with as few side effects as possible. And dedicated ambassadors like Courtney are pivotal to Dare to Dream’s continued success.
“I dream of a time where treatments can be so efficient and so effective that our children don’t have to endure years to a lifetime of treatment and/or side effects. Where a cure can be found without drastically affecting their quality of life moving forward.” Together, we Dare to Dream so their dreams come true.
Learn more about The Dare to Dream Project, and if you or a loved one need personalized disease information, resources, or support, you can contact one of our Information Specialists for help.